August 2014

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We change education…

The last vestiges of traditional learning are fast leaving the classroom as teachers and students go ‘digital’.

No longer are students limited to old encyclopedias. Thanks to the internet, the sky is the limit. Laptops, tablets and smartphones are becoming the de riguere for students right from primary up to higher levels of education. Even institutions have changed their methods of teaching their students and have found it much more effective and efficient. Students seem to be more interested studying via the digital format rather than the traditional method. Even school curriculum are evolving and adapting with the use of data becoming even more important in classrooms today.

This means that the level of personalized and adaptive learning can be unique for each student, as the focus of each individual is still a key indicator for progress.

It has enormous potential and the ability to connect to people. The ability to do tasks that you cannot do just by sitting in front of the desktop. Just like the desktop, it is a platform that can provide anything to you at your disposal.

It’s not just about delivering courses on the device. It is he chance to open the door in an organisation to the learning and development group doing other things as well as delivering courses through the device so we can start thinking more broadly. m-learning has the real capability to push things forward.

The state of mobile learning and mobile technology is a vast topic. It’s interesting how learning organisations across the world are starting to look at learning not as a formal experience but really starting to consider the informal experience, the performance. The core aspect with mobile devices is the any time, any where access.

Mobile education is opening up an entirely new dynamics. In the terms of trends and where we’re going, learning something new , landscape changing on a daily basis, playing catch up.

Digital Natives refers to those who grew up with technology to which it continues to evolve today. So anyone born in this era will have a much better understanding of the technology and its usage. They will have a deeper sense of knowledge in understanding the device and also look forward to the new upgrades.

The opposite of a digital native is called a ‘digital immigrant‘. These were born before the digital technology came into existence but have adopted to it to some extent.

As mobile devices become more and more evolved, the users obtain a greater portion of their information from these devices. Game based learning establishes an architecture that enables a collaborative learning experience and environment.

Games are not about entertainment or distraction anymore. We need to approach it with a different way of thinking, a different way of persuasion. Games are now becoming prevalent in every industry – particularly in education. Games are powerful tools for change and learning.

How can educators learn from the gaming industry and how they can apply that to learning?

Free to Learn, Free to Play

In schools and colleges, students have to absorb and apply knowledge to pass a test. But in gaming, players do so because they want to explore and progress ‘voluntarily’.

Failure is Most Certainly an Option – And It Is Encouraged

In gaming, players can try again and again if they are defeated. They don’t lose self-esteem. As we re-attempt it, we definitely identify gaps in the knowledge, understand the system a little better so that we can start to develop ‘strategies’ and eventually overcome the challenge. If students are given the same opportunity to learn, they will develop their understanding at a deeper level.

Games Allow for a Level of Abstraction

Sometimes learning becomes a by-product of a game. Gamers are explicit in their learning objectives. Traditional education systems don’t allow much for abstraction. They pretty much have no choice. However, gamers aren’t so limited. They incorporate images, metaphors and ideas to help communicate concepts. They are well known for abstracting complex issues.